riMet service across the bridge connecting Portland and Milwaukie is planned for September 2015. Anti light-rail activists are trying to stop light rail from coming to southeast Washington County without a vote. (Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)
((Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian))

Regional planners and local officials from Metro, Portland, Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood and even little Durham and King City have been planning for population growth, including new public transportation. That includes the possibility of light rail and dedicated bus lanes, sparking a political fight in Tigard.

An upcoming March ballot measure, pushed in part by light rail opponents from Clackamas County, requires the city to oppose a high-capacity transit corridor without voter blessing. Representatives of that group, SW Rail Vote, will be speaking at tonight's forum.

I will be posting updates starting at 7 p.m. in the comment section below. Chime in with your questions.

View full sizeThis map lays out possible routes that a new light rail or bus rapid transit line (with exclusive lanes) could go through as part of the Southwest Corridor Plan, meant to connect Portland, Tigard and Tualatin. Courtesy of Metro

Quick Background Under the ongoing Southwest Corridor Plan, elected officials have narrowed down options for a high-capacity corridor going from southwest Portland to Tigard and Tualatin. The choices are between a light rail line and bus rapid transit system, with dedicated lanes and fewer stops than a typical bus route.

The next phase of this plan involves identifying where high-capacity transit would go through. That comes down to Naito Parkway or Barbur Boulevard on the Portland side and Hall Boulevard or SW 72nd Avenue on the Tigard/Tualatin side. It also involves choosing station stops and identifying ways to fund this project.

The upcoming ballot measure in Tigard doesn't allow the city to update land use regulations to allow for high-capacity transit unless voters approve with a set of information like price and changes in road capacity. While the government agencies say the effects of this measure passing are unclear, it has implications for the entire region.

Who is speaking tonightMetro Councilor Craig Dirksen: He is the former Tigard mayor and Metro, the regional land use and planning government, is spearheading the Southwest Corridor Plan.

Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden and Councilor Joelle Davis: Tualatin is supposed to be the last stop on a high-capacity transit corridor, with more local bus connections to Sherwood.

Tigard Councilor Jason Snider and Tigard Mayor John Cook: They are among the newest faces in Tigard politics, and both have criticized SW Rail Vote's measure as limiting the city's options for battling congestion. All Tigard elected officials joined in endorsing the Southwest Corridor Plan.

Steve Schopp, Eric Winters and John Charles: They are representatives of the group pushing the Tigard measure on the ballot. Schopp is a Tualatin resident, 2004 Metro candidate and an activist on anti-light rail measures. Winters is an attorney who has supported movements on similar measures and drafted the Tigard measure. Charles is CEO of the conservative think-tank Cascade Policy Institute who lives in Tigard.

PoliticsSW Rail Vote, behind the Tigard transit measure, is driven by conservative activists. In 2012, the group received a $2,000 donation from the Oregon Transformation Project, credited for pushing Clackamas County Board of Commissioners to a conservative majority.

That sparked the interest of another group called Tigard First, recently formed by opponents of an incoming Walmart. A spokeswoman for that group, previously of Occupy Lake Oswego, called the upcoming Tigard measure a "larger neo-conservative movement" to limit public transformation options. This forum is hosted by a group of Washington County democrats.